By John Toth
The Bulletin
We got into the van, and I started driving to the gym. It’s something that I wish we would do more often. But on this day, we planned to go no matter what, and we set a time at which we would leave.
Halfway there, I noticed that I didn’t have my cell phone. I grabbed the earpods, but I left the cellphone on the charging station.
I wanted to turn back to get it, but Sharon, my workout partner and physical fitness editor, urged that we just continue with our trip, remarking that I spend too much time on my cell phone, anyway.
I do, but it’s not all for fun. I do legitimate work on it, like checking and answering emails. In the gym, though, I also use it for passing time watching YouTube videos while I walk on the treadmill.
It’s really boring to walk on the treadmill, unless there is something to look at - like a video screen. In the Angleton Recreation Center, the TV sets are installed near the tall ceiling, and often the glare makes them hard to see.
I have found the best treadmills on cruise ships, where each one has a monitor that shows different paths from all over the world that you can watch as you walk. And when that gets old, I can always look out the window and watch the ocean, although that gets old quicker.
I really wanted to turn back and get my phone, but Sharon was right. I could do without it. I could listen to music in the gym and look out the window when I’m on the treadmill.
That’s what I did. I usually walk a couple of miles, or about 40 minutes. I could do this.
I set the treadmill to the elevation and speed that I like.
I looked at the monitors above some, but the glare on the screen on my left made it too hard to see anything. The set on my right was showing news. I didn’t really want to see that.
It was a nice, sunny day outside. There was the stop sign, just like where it has been all the time. There were the trash and recycle cans by the garage door at the house across the street.
A bicyclist passed by. That was interesting. He wasn’t peddling. Maybe he had one of those e-bikes.
It didn’t take long to get really bored. What time was it, anyway? The treadmill showed that I had only walked three-quarters of a mile. That must have been off. I felt like I walked much longer than that. I should have turned back and gotten my phone.
This was turning out to be a lot more tedious than I thought.
I looked at the stop sign again and the trash and recycling cans. There they were still, just like the last time I looked. The screen to my left still was covered with glare. The screen on my right still had news.
I made it to a mile and a half when Sharon mercifully stopped by to say she was finished and was ready to go when I was. Thank you. I was really ready. Exercising is boring, and it’s even more boring without a cellphone. I just do it to keep this body from falling apart, not because I like it.
I kept reaching for my earpods, only to realize that I had nothing to connect them to.
Sharon then wanted to go to Academy to look for sandals on sale. That presented another problem. When she shops, the phone is my lifeline. Men don’t shop; they buy. Women shop, and it takes a long time. So, I make it tolerable by playing videos on my phone or listening to something interesting.
“Let’s just go from here,” she said.
That’s what we did. But before we entered the store, I asked: “Could I see your phone?”
Problem solved. Why didn’t I think of this earlier, like in the gym?
She found a really nice looking pair of sandals for a really good price. It took a long time. I was watching YouTube shorts.